Ladies&#39; undergarment



April 28, 1970 D* D. BOGDON LADIES' UNDERGARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 $2YIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. 'Illll'lld Filed June 19.

INVENTOR. DELLA DOROTHY BOGDON ATTORNEY.

D. D. BOGDON LADIES UNDERGARMENT April 28, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJune 19. 1967 INVENTOR. DELLA DOROTHY BOGDON www/0%,

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofi 3,508,555 Patented Apr. 28, 1970 iceU.S. Cl. 12S-427 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An undergarmentwhich serves as brassiere, and/or stocking support, and which alsoserves as a bracer r support for the back of the wearer.

THE INVENTION The undergarment includes breast-supporting cups, abodice, or a combined bodice and waist which can be worn with, or as areplacement for, a conventional girdle and with or without stockingsupports.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an undergarment constructedaccording t0 one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view showing how the garment looks when inuse.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view showing a garment the bodice of whichincludes a separable' bottom portion.

In a preferred embodiment the garment includes shoulder straps whichconnect the upper edge of the front of the bodice to the upper edge ofthe back panel 24 thereof and which are Wide enough to cover the majorportion of the shoulders between the junction of the arm and the neck.This distributes the weight, or downward pressure exerted on theshoulders and prevents the soreness, the discolorations, and the ridgeswhich result from the use of narrow shoulder straps of the order of oneor two inches in width. The garment is also provided with armholes ofwhich engage the uppermost portions of the arms and prevent creeping ofthe straps toward the neck.

At its front, the garment is provided with breast cups 12 which areconstructed to support and point the breasts upwardly. The breast cupsare carried by, or form part of an abbreviated bodice 14 which is slitdown the center and the edges 16 of which drawn and held together by aconventional slide fastener 18. It will be noted that the back panel 24of the bodice is extended dovmwardly so as to overlie the small of theback of the wearer. Side gussets 20` and a back gusset 22 are providedfor limited adjustment.

The back 24 is provided with two strap-like memlbers 26 whichpreferably, but not necessarily, extend from a point near the shouldersto a point below the bottom edge 30 of the garment. In any event, thestraps are provided with hooks or clasps 28 for directly engaging thetops of the stocking or for engaging separate straps 30, such as thoseshown in FIG. 7, which engage the stocking tops.

When a garment so constructed is worn, and the slide fastener is closed,the bodice tightly hugs the torso below the breasts while the breastcups enclose the breasts. This firmly fixes the position of the garmentrelative to the body, so that any downward pull on the back of thegarment, by the straps 26, or otherwise, will exert a backward pull onthe shoulders of the wearer and results in a more erect posture. Also,downward pull on the straps presses the back of the garment against theback of the wearer and provides very helpful support. The downward pullreferred to is supplied by engaging the straps 26 with the stockings orwith the upper edge of a girdle. When the garment is used with a girdle,the straps can be shortened, or appropriate clasps can be secureddirectly t0 the bottom edge of the garment back for engagement with thetop edge of the girdle.

It will be noted that, when worn as shown in FIG. 3, the garment givessupport to -the back but leaves the abdomen exposed and free. Thispermits free movement of the diaphragm and permits deep breathing whichis essential to well-being. This is especially useful for persons whoare obese or who have prominent abdomens.

FIG. 7 shows an undergarment, the shoulder panels 34 of which are cut ona wide angle and are somewhat narrow, for evening wear.

FIG. 8 shows the garment which is produced when the front panel belowthe broken line in FIG. 7 is removed.

As can be seen from the drawings, the breast cups are built into thebodice, the meeting edges of which are joined by slide fastener 18. Bythis arrangement, the V- cut formed by the edges 30 of the panels isextended downwardly and provides a distinct separation or cleavage ofthe breasts with the joined edges abutting the sternum. In practice,this has proved to be a great improvement over the wire brassieres whichwere designed to effect this separation, and which caused discomfort andirritation to the wearer.

What I claim is:

1. A ladies undergarment comprising front, back and sides, co-acting toform a bodice which tightly hugs the torso below the breasts of thewearer,

breast-support cups separately secured to said bodice,

shoulder straps connecting the front of the bodice to the back thereof.

said shoulder straps being of a width to cover the major portion of theshoulders measured from the neck toward the arm, and

supports carried by the back of said bodice.

2. The garment of claim 1 wherein the outer edges of said straps alsoengage the adjacent upper portions of the arms to prevent the strapsfrom creeping toward the neck.

3. The garment of claim y1 wherein the bodice includes a lower portionwhich is attachable to, and detachable from, the lower edge of thebodice, at will.

4. The garment of claim y1 wherein the bottom edge of the back islonger, vertically measured than the front thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,477,792 8/ 1949 Fratianni128-426 2,538,709 1/1951 Rosner 128-427 2,591,462 4/1952 Mungo 12S-4262,605,469 8/1952 Licht 12S-454 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl.X.R. 128-430, 451

